Randomized Controlled Trial of a Video Gaming-Based Social Skills Program for Children on the Autism Spectrum.
Renae Beaumont, Hugh Walker, Jonathan Weiss and 1 others
PMID 33389304WHAT IT FOUND
Children on the autism spectrum whose parents supported a coached online social-skills program improved parent-reported social skills more than children doing active online cognitive games, and gains held at follow-up.
Key findings
01The parent-supported Secret Agent Society program produced greater improvement in parent-reported social skills and emotion-regulation skills than the active control, and the difference remained at follow-up.
02Teacher-reported broad social skills improved more for the Secret Agent Society group than for the control group, but teacher-reported Secret Agent Society-specific skills did not show a clear group-by-time change.
03Parent-reported child anxiety did not differ between the Secret Agent Society and active control conditions across the trial.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Parents both delivered the intervention and rated the main outcomes, so their scores may have been influenced by their expectations and time with the child. Teacher data were limited because only 10 teachers completed all three time points and 29 completed pre- and post-questionnaires, so school generalization is harder to interpret. The Secret Agent Society group had higher baseline teacher-reported emotion-regulation and social skills, higher baseline behavior intensity, and more children with ADHD than the control group. The sample was mostly children of mothers who were married, Caucasian, and highly educated, so results may not apply to more diverse families. For 44 children, cognitive ability was inferred from a teacher statement rather than a standardized assessment. Program fidelity was based on parent self-report, which may not accurately show how much of the program was completed. The intervention was a package, and the control group also received parent training and weekly coaching, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the video game alone caused the improvement. The Secret Agent Society package also included visual support cards, parent training slides, a program delivery guide, a parenting webinar, behavior management tips, daily home missions, and weekly online coaching. The contribution of any single component cannot be separated.